American Ramp Company (ARC) Getting Sued

[grimcity]

http://www.americanrampcompanylawsuit.com

I didn't see this anywhere in the forums... stoked to see these fucks getting called out. Fuck ARC!

[Random Matt]

I hope they win their lawsuit, pre-fab parks are terrible.  But many of the pics didn't seem that bad,  I've seen SkateWave stuff in far worse shape.

[Fenzadill]

Get those fuckers!

 Carnie wrote a great article in Big Brother about how pre-fab parks are a detriment to skateboarding as a whole, and we need to stop cities from giving so much fucking money to playground manufacturers who are building ass shit parks.  It even affects the way people learn to skate.  Sure, it's a nice quarter, and a nice banked hip, but I'd rather skate a flowing, concrete moonscape constructed by the good people at Team Pain, than some fuckin' reclaimed basketball court with a flatbar and a couple of slopes.

[Fenzadill]

Get those fuckers!

 Carnie wrote a great article in Big Brother about how pre-fab parks are a detriment to skateboarding as a whole, and we need to stop cities from giving so much fucking money to playground manufacturers who are building ass shit parks.  It even affects the way people learn to skate.  Sure, it's a nice quarter, and a nice banked hip, but I'd rather skate a flowing, concrete moonscape constructed by the good people at Team Pain, than some fuckin' reclaimed basketball court with a flatbar and a couple of slopes.

you know, like asians.

[Zurg]

it sounds kinda stupid, but i love prefab parks when theyre well laid out. there was one down the street from my parents and it was fun as hell. i liked how there wasnt much to it, so you could practice ledge and flatbar tricks without having to worry too much about getting in people's way. i think the lack of variety also forced me to skate street a lot more. i'm probably in the minority though as i never really liked skateparks very much.

this was in response to Fenzdill's Carnie reiteration. fuck the ARC, how hard is it to build a prefab park?

[Fenzadill]

it sounds kinda stupid, but i love prefab parks when theyre well laid out. there was one down the street from my parents and it was fun as hell. i liked how there wasnt much to it, so you could practice ledge and flatbar tricks without having to worry too much about getting in people's way. i think the lack of variety also forced me to skate street a lot more. i'm probably in the minority though as i never really liked skateparks very much.

this was in response to Fenzdill's Carnie reiteration. fuck the ARC, how hard is it to build a prefab park?

Well yeah, they're fun, because skateboarding is fun.  Parking blocks are so goddam fun.  It's just that the companies that manufacture the prefab pieces are:

1. Not skateboarders
2. Grossly overcharging cities for parks that could be much better

A quarterpipe doesn't cost 1200 bucks, it's like 100 bucks worth of wood and coping.

And they honestly do fall the fuck apart and the city rarely repanels or replaces stolen pieces.

[Eschaton]

Hahaha I skated that Pennsauken Park at the bottom of the Pics list. It's not THAT bad. I can just imagine a Lawyer walking around a shitty prefab park and thinking to themselves 'Great Scott there is a goldmine here!'. I feel like these kinds of Lawsuits will just discourage cities from opening new parks and give them incentive to shut down existing prefab parks.

[Cadillac Ranch Dressing]

Should ARC be found liable on all claims, it will have to pay up to $18 million in damages and fines. Each municipality will likely need to have a new skate park built to replace the Pro Series equipment, and such a recovery will enable each local government to upgrade to a higher quality skatepark.

The Jeffersons Original Theme Song

[TonyBologna]

Althought I think Americans are a bit too sue happy, I am glad that we can agree that the ramps aren't usually worth the cost, nor do they make sense due to the people putting them together knowing a thing about skateboarding. My city got lucky and they built a park with a couple things without pre-fab ramps, they bought off-brand skate lite and made ramps themselves, without alot of input from skateboarders. Some cities need to realize how intricate skateboarding is, especially the construction of parks with flow and sensible ramp logistics.

[chillout]

i worked on building a couple arc parks. good people, bad parks

[Eschaton]

Well apparently I need to read more.

[ice nine]

My parks not pre fab, but the ground/flat is asphalt(sp?) And the ramps are all concrete, and now there's a lot of big cracks where they meet. We want to get the park resurfaced but are worried the city will just shut it down if we complain about its state/how unsafe it is.

[tkp]

My parks not pre fab, but the ground/flat is asphalt(sp?) And the ramps are all concrete, and now there's a lot of big cracks where they meet. We want to get the park resurfaced but are worried the city will just shut it down if we complain about its state/how unsafe it is.

approach the city in a professional manner with photos of the cracks and your concerns. have local businesses be involved / parents of skaters / shop owners.

i've heard of cities nixing legit concrete park plans in exchange for prefab parks which isn't a good thing. unless of course you are into prefab.

they do have their uses, Manhattan bridge park is a good example.



skated it a few times and had fun. plus being able to move things around and easily switch it up. lego skateparks...

but it would be pretty damn tough to get the same type of flow as a concrete park with prefab shit, and unfortunately cities can just drop some shit in a parking lot and call it a skatepark.

"yea, we'd like a 8 foot kidney bowl" - go concrete. it lasts longer.

[tortfeasor]

I feel like these kinds of Lawsuits will just discourage cities from opening new parks and give them incentive to shut down existing prefab parks.

the towns lose nothing from this law suit they are the plaintiffs,

in fact this may make some towns more eager to build skateparks as....
A) towns will now be less worried about becoming the defendants in skatepark related law suits or at the least will have some precedent to implead the companies that built the parks and mitigate a chunk of damages they may face
B) killing or maiming this company will provide a new opening in the market for better brands at lower prices
C) it is going to give a lot of small town attorneys something to keep them busy and out of the hair of municipal counsels


also if you look at the complaint they allege a lot of willful fraudulent conduct- this is so they can get treble (read triple) damages
 so aside from getting new parks and their money back- some of these towns may walk away with a little cash in pocket

[Random Matt]

My parks not pre fab, but the ground/flat is asphalt(sp?) And the ramps are all concrete, and now there's a lot of big cracks where they meet. We want to get the park resurfaced but are worried the city will just shut it down if we complain about its state/how unsafe it is.

Get some Bondo, or some concrete patching.  That should resolve the problem for awhile.

[Zurg]

bondo should be awesome for about a week and a half

[iwshilvdnfinland]

a pre fab park is better than no park at all in most cases.

[Fenzadill]

a pre fab park is better than no park at all in most cases.

Yeah but for the same cost as filling a slab with quarterpipes, plastic ledges, bank to banks, etc, as fun as they can be, you could get a real skatepark builder to come in and build a cool little flow park with polished granite ledges and pool coping and shit.

[marginal way]

a pre fab park is better than no park at all in most cases.

no, it's not. once the shitty prefab park is thrown up, it gives cops, security, and overzealous citizens the ability to say "just go to the skatepark" every time you try to skate somewhere. and when the skatepark is some overpriced piece of shit that's falling apart, that's a problem.

[trannies and mannies]

considering that I have no skatepark in my town, a prefab park with a good mini ramp, box, and pyramid would be great.

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

a pre fab park is better than no park at all in most cases.

no, it's not. once the shitty prefab park is thrown up, it gives cops, security, and overzealous citizens the ability to say "just go to the skatepark" every time you try to skate somewhere. and when the skatepark is some overpriced piece of shit that's falling apart, that's a problem.

With cops you say to them "Gee officer, there's a park in town?! What does it look like? Wow! That sounds like fun! Can you tell us where it is? Thanks for all the help!" and flip the script on a potential bust. You don't have to go there. With a citizen you just make fun of the piece of shit they call a park and then offer them a good Samaritan award

Some pro skater said something about bad parks along the lines of "if you saw most of the obstacles integrated into an actual street spot you would be hyped." It's a good approach to a shitty park. Obviously everybody likes good parks more than bad parks, and prefab parks are certainly bad, but if there's nothing better, fuck it.

[jeremyrandall]

From the website

Should ARC be found liable on all claims, it will have to pay up to $18 million in damages and fines. Each municipality will likely need to have a new skate park built to replace the Pro Series equipment, and such a recovery will enable each local government to upgrade to a higher quality skatepark.

Fuck yeah...I hope they get em

[filter]

good prefab parks are actually really fun, provided it has a good mini, all the usual essentials, and lots of slick flat. concrete parks have their place but i dont think they can or should replace them

[Fenzadill]

good prefab parks are actually really fun, provided it has a good mini, all the usual essentials, and lots of slick flat. concrete parks have their place but i dont think they can or should replace them

...concrete parks GENERALLY contain all of these implements.  slick flat like that made of concrete, or you're looking for like a linoleum surface?  Ice?

The point is, a real skateboard park builder, run by skateboarders, can build you a park to your town specifications, it will be more fun and dynamic, and you put some money is skater's pockets.  This isn't an indictment of solid banked hips and flatbars, it's of a shitty company taking our fuckin' money, and giving us something back that is not worth the price tag. 

If Wal-Mart made really solid blank decks and they were cheaper, would you buy 'em?  Not even cheaper, just more readily available?

And regarding 'replacing' them, in the same article I referenced earlier, Carnie says something like, every city needs a 'crete park, a street plaza, a BMX park, and a bath house for the rollerbladers. 

Just like any other municipality, it should be specialized.  You don't see 'em playing baseball on the basketball court. 

Also the parks should be lit, open all night, and you should be able to smoke as much pot and drink as much beer as you want in public.  Fuck, they should sell beer!  These are my demands.

[Zurg]

a pre fab park is better than no park at all in most cases.

no, it's not. once the shitty prefab park is thrown up, it gives cops, security, and overzealous citizens the ability to say "just go to the skatepark" every time you try to skate somewhere. and when the skatepark is some overpriced piece of shit that's falling apart, that's a problem.

With cops you say to them "Gee officer, there's a park in town?! What does it look like? Wow! That sounds like fun! Can you tell us where it is? Thanks for all the help!" and flip the script on a potential bust. You don't have to go there. With a citizen you just make fun of the piece of shit they call a park and then offer them a good Samaritan award

Some pro skater said something about bad parks along the lines of "if you saw most of the obstacles integrated into an actual street spot you would be hyped." It's a good approach to a shitty park. Obviously everybody likes good parks more than bad parks, and prefab parks are certainly bad, but if there's nothing better, fuck it.

agree with this. do you think a cop or security would ever think "i would kick these kids out, but since there isnt a close skatepark ill let it slide". i think in most cases the thought wouldnt cross their mind

[Bobby Peru]

I just noticed this on the website:

"Spohn Ranch, Inc. is what is known as the ?Relator? of the lawsuit. Spohn is what is often called a ?whistle blower? ? a private party that discovers what it believes is fraud against the government. The Relator then brings the claim on behalf of the various governments. If the Relator prevails then it is entitled to share in the proceeds of the recovery. Spohn intends to place any relator share into a trust fund for the replacement of Pro Series skateparks with concrete parks."

Sounds like Spohn Ranch is in it to call shotgun on building parks in the plaintiff cities. Any of you guys skate their parks? Are they good/trustworthy?

[Fenzadill]

I just noticed this on the website:

"Spohn Ranch, Inc. is what is known as the ?Relator? of the lawsuit. Spohn is what is often called a ?whistle blower? ? a private party that discovers what it believes is fraud against the government. The Relator then brings the claim on behalf of the various governments. If the Relator prevails then it is entitled to share in the proceeds of the recovery. Spohn intends to place any relator share into a trust fund for the replacement of Pro Series skateparks with concrete parks."

Sounds like Spohn Ranch is in it to call shotgun on building parks in the plaintiff cities. Any of you guys skate their parks? Are they good/trustworthy?

I don't know anything about the company itself, but I hear good things about the Gainesville park they built, and the one in Daytona Beach is the bomb shit man.   Lights on all night, a multitude of obstacles that flow together,  A DECKLESS QUARTERPIPE in reference to that other thread.  It does smell like poop cuz' it's next to a waste managment plant thing, but you get used to it.
http://www.spohnranch.com/featured-parks/

and the built a dick shaped bowl.

[chillout]

I just noticed this on the website:

"Spohn Ranch, Inc. is what is known as the ?Relator? of the lawsuit. Spohn is what is often called a ?whistle blower? ? a private party that discovers what it believes is fraud against the government. The Relator then brings the claim on behalf of the various governments. If the Relator prevails then it is entitled to share in the proceeds of the recovery. Spohn intends to place any relator share into a trust fund for the replacement of Pro Series skateparks with concrete parks."

Sounds like Spohn Ranch is in it to call shotgun on building parks in the plaintiff cities. Any of you guys skate their parks? Are they good/trustworthy?

my local park is spohn ranch and its very well built, and they seemed like good people to work with

[Eschaton]

Those Spohn Ranch Parks look awesome! I would kill to have something like anyone of those around here.

http://www.spohnranch.com/featured-parks/?park_id=108

That one looks pretty cool and would probably be cheap for a city to build.

[Richie Jackson]

Should ARC be found liable on all claims, it will have to pay up to $18 million in damages and fines. Each municipality will likely need to have a new skate park built to replace the Pro Series equipment, and such a recovery will enable each local government to upgrade to a higher quality skatepark.

The Jeffersons Original Theme Song

Haha! So good!